African-Americans
Have Legacy
Of Military Service, Sacrifice
Since
the birth of America,
African-Americans have been fighting
and dying alongside their countrymen
as the United States has struggled
for freedom and peace at home and
abroad.
African-American
soldiers have fought in every war
the United States has participated
in, including the Revolutionary War,
the War of 1812, the Civil War, the
Spanish American War, World Wars I
and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam
War, the Gulf War, and the current
war on terror.
African-Americans, both free and
slaves, participated in all the
conflicts in the early days of
America. About 5,000
African-American soldiers fought for
the U.S. in the American
Revolutionary War. African-Americans
distinguished themselves in the
Boston Massacre in 1770, the Battle
of Lexington and Concord in 1775,
the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775,
and throughout the Revolution.
In
the Civil War, 180,000
African-Americans made up 163 units
of the Union Army, and many more
served in the Union Navy. Story
President
Celebrates African American
History Month
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"This
is a month in which we
recognize the many African
Americans who've made great
contributions to our country.
We honor the talent and their
courage. We renew our
commitment to securing liberty
and justice for every
American," President Bush
said Feb. 12, 2007, during a
ceremony at the White House.
"I
appreciate many of the
notables who have joined us:
Madam Secretary, appreciate
you coming. Mr. Secretary
Alphonso Jackson and Marcia.
Thanks for coming, Mr.
Secretary. Proud you're
here."
"If
I skip some of the notables,
it's because I'm going to say
something about them a little
later on. So, Congressman,
I'll be with you in a
minute." Transcript
A
Proclamation by the
President
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During
National African
American History Month,
we honor the
achievements and
celebrate the rich
heritage of African
Americans. Throughout
our Nation's history,
African Americans from
all walks of life have
offered their talents to
the betterment of
American society.
Scholars
such as Frederick
Douglass and W.E.B.
DuBois were early
leaders who placed great
importance on educating
all people about the
need for justice and
racial equality.
Athletes such as Jackie
Robinson and Althea
Gibson persevered while
breaking the color
barrier and competing at
the highest levels of
sports. Musicians like
Nat King Cole and Billie
Holiday lifted the
American spirit with
their creativity and
musical gifts. Through
their extraordinary
accomplishments, these
leaders helped bring our
Nation closer to
fulfilling its founding
ideals.
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This
year's theme, "Carter
G. Woodson and the Origins
of Multiculturalism,"
honors an educator who taught
his fellow citizens about the
traditions and contributions
of African Americans. His
dedication to educating
Americans about cultural
diversity initiated this
celebration of
African-American history. Our
Nation is now stronger and
more hopeful because
generations of leaders like
him have worked to help
America live up to its promise
of equality and the great
truth that all of God's
children are created equal.
Throughout
African American History
Month, we celebrate the many
contributions African
Americans have made to our
Nation, and we are reminded of
their courage in their
struggle to change the hearts
and minds of our citizens.
While much progress has been
made, we must continue to work
together to achieve the
promise and vision of our
great Nation.
President
George W. Bush
Jan. 29, 2008, Proclamation
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DoD
Salutes African-American
Servicemembers for Wartime Service
By
Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
HAMPTON,
Va., Feb. 2007 – The Defense
Department recognized 11
African-American servicemen and
women for their service in the
global war against terrorism at a
ceremony held at Hampton University.
Left to right: Air
National Guard Lt.
Col. Mary-Thom
Williams, Francis L.
Horne, and Air Force
Senior Master Sgt.
Cleveland Wiltz pose
for a photo at the
Defense
Department’s
African-American
History Month
observance at
Hampton University,
Va., Feb. 21. Photo
by Gerry J. Gilmore '
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The servicemembers received
certificates signed and presented by
Clarence A. Johnson, DoD’s
principal director and director for
civilian equal employment
opportunity within the
department’s office of diversity
management and equal opportunity.
The recognition ceremony is part of
annual DoD-sponsored
African-American History Month
workshops and seminars that reach
out to students attending
historically black colleges and
universities to demonstrate the
diverse and rewarding civilian and
military careers DoD has to offer.
Last year’s event was held at
Huston-Tillotson University in
Austin, Texas.
About five years ago, the Pentagon
began making annual road trips to
“alert and make aware to the HBCU
community those opportunities for
employment” in DoD or for
conducting business with the
department, Johnson said.
The theme for DoD’s 2007
African-American History Month
observance and outreach activities
is “Reaching Out to Youth: A
Strategy for Excellence.”
The United States military has taken
the lead in equal opportunity, said
Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Newman,
adjutant general of the Virginia
National Guard, which is a
co-sponsor of the two-day Hampton
University event. Race or ethnic
makeup is irrelevant within the U.S.
military, Newman said.
“What matters is that you’re
able to serve your country in time
of peril,” the two-star general
emphasized. “Performance is all
that counts,” he said.
William R. Harvey, Hampton
University’s president since 1978,
is an Army veteran and a lieutenant
colonel in the inactive reserve. He
praised the servicemembers in
attendance and cited the importance
of leadership and teamwork to
success.
“I salute you,” Harvey told the
servicemembers.
Harvey also welcomed Maj. Gen. John
R. Hawkins III, the Army’s
assistant deputy chief of staff for
mobility and reserve affairs, who
attended the ceremony. Harvey
pointed out that Hawkins’ son,
John, who is a doctor, is a Hampton
University graduate.
Marine 1st Lt. Cory L. Holiday, 26,
was one of the 11 servicemembers
recognized at the ceremony. Holiday,
from Tallahassee, Fla., noted he’d
served a tour of duty as a perimeter
and convoy security specialist at Al
Asad Air Base in Iraq from August
2005 to April 2006. Confronting
America’s enemies in places like
Iraq or Afghanistan is part of being
a military professional, he said.
“We’re there because we’re
told to go. That’s our job,”
Holiday pointed out.
The event also featured two World
War II-era African-American military
luminaries: James Rudy Carter, 85,
one of the first African-American
Marines, and Francis L. Horne Sr.,
85, a graduate of the famed Tuskegee
Institute, who served as an aircraft
radio repairman.
Carter earned first sergeant’s
stripes in 1944 after less than two
years in the Marines, becoming one
of the highest-ranking enlisted
African-Americans in the Corps
before the military services were
desegregated in 1948.
“The military is way out in front
of the civilian population in terms
of equal opportunity,” said
Carter, who later left the Marines.
Horne went on to earn a commission
from Hampton University’s ROTC
program in 1948. Horne retired from
the Air Force as a lieutenant
colonel.
The two veterans met with the young
servicemembers after the recognition
ceremony and swapped stories.
“This event is outstanding. I’m
overwhelmed by it,” Horne said.
Other servicemembers honored at the
ceremony include:
-- Army Maj. Christopher V. Wynder,
for outstanding military police
service in Yongsan, South Korea.
-- Army Maj. Norman A. Morton, for
outstanding supply support in
southeastern Baghdad, November
2005-06.
-- Navy Lt. Cmdr. Pamela Theorgood,
for outstanding contracting support
in Baghdad.
-- Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer
Linda J. Cline, for outstanding
service with Defense Reutilization
and Marketing Office at Al Asad Air
Base, Iraq, from April to September
2006.
-- Marine Sgt. Tracy Moye, for
outstanding legal assistance work at
Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, from
December 2004 through June 2005.
-- Air Force Senior Master Sgt.
Cleveland Wiltz, for outstanding
medical support at Baghdad
International Airport.
-- Army National Guard Command Sgt.
Maj. Zarrod A. Beck, for outstanding
leadership during Operation Enduring
Freedom and Hurricane Katrina relief
efforts.
-- Air National Guard Lt. Col.
Mary-Thom Williams, for outstanding
inspection results and achieving
recruitment goals.
-- Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Keith N.
Johnson, for outstanding port
security program at Fort Eustis, Va.
-- Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd
Class Travis R. Williams, for
outstanding training of Iraqi and
Kuwaiti Navy personnel in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Williams is
currently deployed.
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Related Sites:
African-American
History Month Special
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James
Rudy Carter, left, and Marine 1st
Lt. Cory L. Holiday pose for a photo
at the Defense Department’s
African-American History Month
observance at Hampton University,
Va., Feb. 21. Photo by Gerry J.
Gilmore
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DoD
Honors 11 African-American Servicemembers
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
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AUSTIN,
Texas,
Feb. 2006
–
Eleven servicemen and women were honored for their
service in Iraq and Afghanistan and during
Hurricane Katrina at a special reception hosted by
the Defense Department and Army Test and
Evaluation Command here.
The
reception was hosted as part of the DoD National
African American History Month observance Feb. 25.
Clarence
A. Johnson, DoD's principal director and director,
civilian equal employment opportunity, and
high-ranking representatives of the awardees'
commands presented each awardee with a special
coin from David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of
defense for personnel and readiness.
The
recipients, all honored for meritorious service,
were:
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Air
Force Reserve Maj. Donna McNabb, a Bronze Star
Medal recipient and chief of logistics and
chief of resources for Task Force 134 in Iraq,
was credited with monitoring more than $250
million in operational and maintenance
facilities (Army) funds in support of task
force units and five detentions facilities.
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Air
National Guard Staff Sgt. Lenieshia T.
Mayberry was cited for work in Iraq and
Afghanistan and for her work during the
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Serving as a
fire team leader in Saudi Arabia, Mayberry
supervised airmen protecting billions of
dollars worth of Air Force aircraft and
personnel without loss of life or assets, the
citation stated.
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Coast
Guard Master Chief Arthur D. Petty, a food
service specialist, received honors as the
senior enlisted member while deployed with
Expeditionary Strike Group 5 aboard U.S. Coast
Guard Cutter Munro. The award citation stated
that Petty's ability to gather crucial
information on both operations and potential
ports of call was critical to Munro's success.
His efforts helped command cadre in creating
liberty policies, which maximized both crew
safety and recreation.
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Army
National Guard 1st Lt. Nicole L. Robertson was
cited for contributions as rail-load officer
for her company's equipment deployed to Iraq.
"She beat established timelines, while
ensuring equipment was available for combat
operations," the award citation stated.
Robertson also served as convoy commander in
multiple moves from Fort Hood, Texas, through
Kuwait and into Baghdad, including
transporting 582 soldiers to various deployed
locations.
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Army
Staff Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers was cited as a
tactical psychological operations team chief
in Fallujah, Iraq. Bowers was recognized for
leading his team during many days under direct
fire from enemy forces in Fallujah, the
citation stated. "After his platoon was
ambushed, he immediately led an attack on the
enemy and provided for the evacuation of three
wounded Marines," the citation noted.
"His tactical skills and courage under
fire were essential to destroying the enemy
and saving the lives of his wounded comrades.
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Marine
Capt. Vernice Armour, an Air Medal recipient,
was honored for service as an attack
helicopter pilot with the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force in Iraq. "During the
peak of battle, she maneuvered her aircraft
and employed multiple Hellfire missiles on
enemy positions in the old city section of
Najaf, Iraq," the citation stated. Her
accuracy was credited with destroying enemy
weapons, rendering the munitions unusable for
the enemy and stopped the enemy's attack on
the Army's 1st Cavalry troops, the citation
noted.
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Air
Force Capt. Kendrea Vallien received
distinction as a contract administrator and
administrative officer in Iraq. Vallien is
credited with establishing nationwide
reconstruction efforts during a period of
heightened political tensions from national
elections and referendums that resulted in
numerous car bombings, random mortar attacks
and indiscriminate small-arms fire.
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Marine
Maj. Charles Ellis, a Bronze Star Medal
recipient, was cited for service while
commander of the Regional Detention Facility,
Ramadi, Iraq. He is credited with supervising
and executing the daily induction, detention
and transfer of more than 3,200 insurgents and
detainees directly from the battlefield. He
ensured that all detainees were treated with
dignity and respect, according to the
citation.
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Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Marichal L. Hill received honors for
meritorious service as chief finance and
projects and finance officer, civil military
Operations, Combined Joint Task Force 76, in
Afghanistan. Among other noteworthy
accomplishments, Hill was cited for his
handling of more than 1,600 overseas
humanitarian disaster assistance and civic aid
projects valued at $100 million, the award
citation noted.
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Navy
Lt. Samuel E. Robinson was cited for
distinguishing himself by meritorious service
as assistant operations officer, Defense
Contract Management Agency, Iraq. Robinson
received high praise for his management of the
Army's $5.8 billion Logistics Civil
Augmentation Program.
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Army
Reserve Maj. Sharon Blue was honored for
meritorious service as a logistical planner
for the Logistical Civil Augmentation Program
in Iraq and Afghanistan. "She volunteered
for duties outside of the normal scope of her
responsibilities to ensure add-on-armor was
delivered and installed on vehicles in
proximity of known 'attack zones,'" the
award citation stated.
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Biography:
Clarence
A. Johnson
Celebrating Black
History Month
Dr.
Carter G. Woodson |
Dr. Carter Woodson - Founder of Black History Month
Americans have
recognized black history annually since 1926. What you might
not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied—or
even documented—when the tradition originated. Although blacks
have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it
was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable
presence in the history books.
We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more
importantly, the study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson,
Historian, Birthplace: New Canton, Va., Born: 1875, Died: 1950.
Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood
working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at
age twenty. He graduated within two years and later went on to
earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was disturbed to find in
his studies that history books largely ignored the black American
population—and when blacks did figure into the picture, it was
generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they
were assigned at the time.
Woodson, always one to act on his ambitions, decided to take on
the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's
history. He established the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of
Afro-American Life and History) in 1915, and a year later founded
the widely respected Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he
launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national
attention to the contributions of black people throughout American
history.
DoD to Support
Historically Black Colleges, Universities
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 2005 – The Defense
Department signed a commitment with Alabama State University and
several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities in a
brief Feb. 24 ceremony during the DoD and HBCU African- American
History Month observance and symposium here.
Charles S. Abell, right, looks on as Joe A. Lee, president
of Alabama State University, signs the Defense Department
commitment during a brief ceremony during the DoD and
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
African-American History Month observance and symposium at
the university. Abell is the principal deputy
undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Photo by Rudi Williams
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The first signers were Charles S. Abell,
principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and
readiness, and Joe Lee, president of Alabama State University.
"It pledges us to support the executive order that the
president has established on support for Historically Black
Colleges and Universities," Abell said after the signing.
"It reflects the Department of Defense's commitment to work
with the HBCUs to provide opportunities for the young folks and
opportunities for sharing of research, sciences and technology
work and the availability of DoD resources to assist HBCUs."
Abell said DoD hopes that all of the more than
100 HBCUs across the country eventually will sign the commitment.
"There are a lot of blank lines on this, and for those
presidents who couldn't get here today, we're going to get the
form to them and let them sign on this very form," he said.
"The fact that they couldn't be here today has no reflection
on whether or not they have the ability to sign.
"We hope to have an energized team approach
to this, where we're helping them and they're helping us,"
Abell said.
DoD and HBCUs help each other by focusing on
small and disadvantaged businesses, contracts and grants, science
and technology, research and development, ROTC, internships and
civilian employment opportunities, as well as access to surplus
and excess equipment.
"Historically Black Colleges and
Universities provide an ever-increasing talent pool for our
nation," John M. Molino, acting deputy undersecretary of
defense for equal opportunity, said later during the National
African-American History Month luncheon. "In the armed
forces, the contribution of HBCUs to the military departments is
legion. The overwhelming majority of more than 250 black officers
to attain the rank of general or admiral graduated from an HBCU.
Many are legendary figures because of their accomplishments."
Molino pointed out the late Brig. Gen. Benjamin
O. Davis Sr., a graduate of Howard University and the first black
general officer in the regular Army, who began 50 years of
military service as a first lieutenant in 1898. Navy Vice Adm.
Samuel L. Gravely, a graduate of Virginia Union University, was
the first black admiral in the Navy and the first black officer to
command a Navy warship. Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.,
a graduate of Tuskegee Institute and one of the famed Tuskegee
Airmen, became the first black four-star general in the Air Force.
Most of the 105 HBCUs are in the southeastern
states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. They
include 40 public four-year, 11 private two-year, 49 private
four-year and five private two-year institutions. Most are more
than 100 years old, with Cheyney University of Pennsylvania,
founded in 1837, being the oldest of these institutions.
Biographies:
Principal
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
Charles S. Abell
Acting
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Equal Opportunity John M.
Molino
Related Article:
DoD
Reaches Out to Historically Black Colleges, Universities
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